HOTA

HOTA (Human Organ Transplant Act) refers to the law that covers the removal of any organ from the body of a dead person into the body a living person. In other words, when a patient passes away, his organs are immediately taken away to save the life of another. While I cannot agree more on how beneficial this system is to patients in need, I am against the act simply because it does not respect the opinion of the donor. The recent amendments to the Human Organ Transplant Act resulted in an uproar in Singapore, with the major change being that unless one opted out of this scheme, once declared “brain-dead”, his organs would be harvested to give others. Though the benefits of this act are undeniable, the way this act is packaged from top to bottom to me is unreasonable. The minister of health may be willing to donate all his organs, but can he speak for the rest?

First and foremost, the lack of basic information is what makes this act really unfair. You cannot expect just a few articles on the Straits Times to reach out to the masses. I for one am completely unaware of such an act till today. As a student, I understand how it feels to have my handphone confiscated and then to be accounted for that the school informed us the day before handphones are not allowed. If this act is not coming to light, then why should it be carried out? I do agree that HOTA is an excellent proposal, only however, if it is made known to everyone. Then again, how many people actually know of an opt-out form? I find it absolutely ridiculous to carry out this act without first informing the public.

Another flaw in HOTA is the certification of brain death. In the case of a brain death, his organs will be harvested to be given to others. While it is theoretically impossible for someone brain dead to revitalize, there are families who cling on to the bleak hope that a miracle will happen. It is painful to pull the plug on your loved ones, even crueller to watch helplessly at doctors extracting their organs. With HOTA in place, we can be absolutely sure the miracle will not happen; too bad if it was going to.

We do not live in a utilitarian state. We cannot evaluate the usefulness of an action just by the extra lives saved. By forcefully removing someone’s organs, it is a form of disrespect. Not to mention, if the deceased was against it. Instead of pushing people to opt out of this organ donation, why not encourage otherwise? A very feasible solution to a potential uproar over this issue in the future is to remove the act, then through the means of media, influence people to donate their organs when they pass away. Make them feel they are doing it for a good cause, then “opt-in” forms will start to flow in.